August 17, 2004

Prions could help organisms adapt to tough situations by subtly altering the proteins manufactured by a cel1. The discovery backs the idea that proteins as well as DNA are vital in driving evolution.

A yeast prion can change the way that cells behave. In their infectious form, the prions sometimes helped the yeast to adapt, changing their rates of survival when they were grown in various nutrients or temperatures.

August 16, 2004

Pioneering AI researcher Raj Reddy plans to unveil at yearend the PCtvt, a $250 wirelessly networked personal computer intended for the four billion people around the world who live on less than $2,000 a year.

August 16, 2004

100 terabytes of data on a 3.5-inch disk may be possible with a new technique for creating an “Atomic Holographic DVR” disc drive within five years, priced at $570 to $750 with the replacement discs for $45.

August 13, 2004

Evolvable hardware — machines that design themselves — can get the job done, even if humans have no idea how they do it.

Using evolutionary processes to optimize machine performance is nothing new. What is new, however, is the application of evolutionary processes in the hardware realm. Thanks to reconfigurable devices such as the field programmable gate array (FPGA) and increasing computational power, researchers are suddenly free to let… read more

August 13, 2004

A new microscope that lets scientists peer deeper into living organisms than ever before and in real time has been developed by researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory.

The technology, called Selective Plane Illumination Microscopy, or SPIM, allows scientists to study relatively large (2 to 3 millimeter) live organisms from many different angles, under real conditions and with minimal disruption to the specimen.

August 11, 2004

Gravity Probe B will test two concepts of the theory: that Earth — and almost any body in space — creates a dimple in the universe’s space-time fabric; and that the rotation of the Earth twists that fabric.

It will attempt to measure those effects by aligning itself with a distant star and then measuring tiny… read more

August 11, 2004

Researchers have coaxed RNA to self-assemble into 3-D arrays, a potential backbone for nanotech scaffolds. These RNA structures can form a wider variety of shapes than double-stranded DNA can and are easier to manipulate than many protein alternatives.

Peixuan Guo of Purdue University and his colleagues report the findings in the August 11, 2004, issue of the journal Nano Letters.